B rian Witte, an Associated Press writer, recently revived an old debate that's been going on since Palm Sunday, April 9, 1865, when the Army of Northern Virginia stacked its arms, parked its artillery and furled its flags for the last time at Appomattox Court House, Va. The bloody Civil War had at long last come to an end with a handshake in the parlor of Wilmer McLean's house. It was the first time the two opposing generals, Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, had met since their days as young Army officers serving in Mexico during the Mexican War. "Though Marylanders live just south of the Mason-Dixon Line, their attitudes and even their accents straddle that border," Witte wrote.

B rian Witte, an Associated Press writer, recently revived an old debate that's been going on since Palm Sunday, April 9, 1865, when the Army of Northern Virginia stacked its arms, parked its artillery and furled its flags for the last time at Appomattox Court House, Va. The bloody Civil War had at long last come to an end with a handshake in the parlor of Wilmer McLean's house. It was the first time the two opposing generals, Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, had met since their days as young Army officers serving in Mexico during the Mexican War. "Though Marylanders live just south of the Mason-Dixon Line, their attitudes and even their accents straddle that border," Witte wrote.

An explosion ripped through a furnace room packed with a propane tank and household items at an Ellicott City apartment complex yesterday, sending six children playing nearby to a Baltimore burn center with minor injuries.Howard County fire officials suspect that a leaking propane tank caused the fire about 5: 30 p.m. at the 60-unit Ellicott Terrace Apartments.The children -- ages 3 to 11 -- were playing with a caged bird outside the furnace room's door when a "big fireball" blew open the door and burned their legs and singed the hair of one girl, said Andre Reynolds, who rents the two-bedroom apartment where the furnace room was located.

A 42-year-old registered nurse was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole yesterday after she pleaded guilty to killing her boyfriend and trying to cover up the murder by setting a fire that killed her handicapped 3-year-old daughter. Elva E. Reid pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, admitting that she beat George W. Koval Jr. to death, left his body in the furnace room of her Turners Station townhouse and set the house on fire three weeks later, after neighbors complained about odors.

Four of six children burned in an explosion at an Ellicott City apartment Monday were in good condition at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center yesterday, and the other two have been released, Howard County rescue officials said.The state fire marshal is investigating the explosion, which took place in a furnace room where a propane tank was stored, said Lt. Chris Cangemi, a spokesman for the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue.The children -- ranging in age from 3 to 11 -- were injured when a blast of fire from what officials believe was an exploding propane tank blew the door off the furnace room as they stood on a ground-floor apartment's patio about 5: 30 p.m. that day.The children, whose identities were not released, were taken by ambulance to the medical center.

Fumes from a propane gas tank stored in a furnace room caused the explosion that injured six children at an Ellicott City apartment complex Monday, the state fire marshall's office has concluded.Although the explosion has been ruled accidental, fire officials are discussing whether to charge an Ellicott City resident in the incident, which sent six children to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. Four of the children remained hospitalized yesterday with first- and second-degree burns.The state fire code prohibits propane tanks from being stored in heavily populated places such as apartments, said Deputy Chief Bob Thomas, a spokesman for the fire marshall's office.

A 42-year-old registered nurse was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole yesterday after she pleaded guilty to killing her boyfriend and trying to cover up the murder by setting a fire that killed her handicapped 3-year-old daughter. Elva E. Reid pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, admitting that she beat George W. Koval Jr. to death, left his body in the furnace room of her Turners Station townhouse and set the house on fire three weeks later, after neighbors complained about odors.

A woman whose handicapped daughter died in a Turners Station house fire this month was charged yesterday with killing her child -- and a man, whose decomposing body was found in a back room by firefighters.Elva E. Reid, 41, was charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Venice Nicole Reid, 3, and George Koval Sr., 62, police said.Reid lived at 102 Calvin Hill Court with her daughter and a 7-year-old son who was injured in the Oct. 11 fire that swept through the two-story brick townhouse.

A family-owned tavern on Elizabeth Road in Pasadena was destroyed by an early-morning blaze yesterday, fire officials said. Bryan Vaughn, 43, and his father, Bill Vaughn, 75, had owned Beezer's tavern for seven years. The son closed the bar about 2 a.m., and about three hours later, firefighters arrived to find the building engulfed in flames. Insurance officials estimated the damage to the establishment at more than $300,000, Bryan Vaughn said. "My dad and I have always wanted to [open a tavern]

Cliffholme, the 14,000-square-foot Green Spring Valley estate on 9 1/2 verdant acres scheduled to be auctioned Thursday, has been described by architects and historians as one of Baltimore's great houses.The three-story house, capped by three large chimneys, sits atop a ridge with a spectacular view of the valley floor and environs. The home, with nine bedrooms, seven bathrooms and seven fireplaces, looks as though it could be a setting for a Jane Austen novel or a "Masterpiece Theater" production.

A woman whose handicapped daughter died in a Turners Station house fire this month was charged yesterday with killing her child -- and a man, whose decomposing body was found in a back room by firefighters.Elva E. Reid, 41, was charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Venice Nicole Reid, 3, and George Koval Sr., 62, police said.Reid lived at 102 Calvin Hill Court with her daughter and a 7-year-old son who was injured in the Oct. 11 fire that swept through the two-story brick townhouse.

Fumes from a propane gas tank stored in a furnace room caused the explosion that injured six children at an Ellicott City apartment complex Monday, the state fire marshall's office has concluded.Although the explosion has been ruled accidental, fire officials are discussing whether to charge an Ellicott City resident in the incident, which sent six children to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. Four of the children remained hospitalized yesterday with first- and second-degree burns.The state fire code prohibits propane tanks from being stored in heavily populated places such as apartments, said Deputy Chief Bob Thomas, a spokesman for the fire marshall's office.

Four of six children burned in an explosion at an Ellicott City apartment Monday were in good condition at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center yesterday, and the other two have been released, Howard County rescue officials said.The state fire marshal is investigating the explosion, which took place in a furnace room where a propane tank was stored, said Lt. Chris Cangemi, a spokesman for the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue.The children -- ranging in age from 3 to 11 -- were injured when a blast of fire from what officials believe was an exploding propane tank blew the door off the furnace room as they stood on a ground-floor apartment's patio about 5: 30 p.m. that day.The children, whose identities were not released, were taken by ambulance to the medical center.

An explosion ripped through a furnace room packed with a propane tank and household items at an Ellicott City apartment complex yesterday, sending six children playing nearby to a Baltimore burn center with minor injuries.Howard County fire officials suspect that a leaking propane tank caused the fire about 5: 30 p.m. at the 60-unit Ellicott Terrace Apartments.The children -- ages 3 to 11 -- were playing with a caged bird outside the furnace room's door when a "big fireball" blew open the door and burned their legs and singed the hair of one girl, said Andre Reynolds, who rents the two-bedroom apartment where the furnace room was located.

A man armed with a knife robbed an undisclosed amount of cash Tuesday from a Jessup Amoco station after threatening a clerk, county police said.The man entered Gallagher's Amoco station, in the 8200 block of U.S. 1, shortly before 11:25 p.m. and placed a knife to the clerk's waist, demanding she open the register, police said.After taking the money from the register, the man fled the store and was last seen heading south on U.S. 1, police said.The man wore a blue, hooded sweat shirt and black pants.